'time to demise', 1988. pastel on paper.
as anticipated,
i woke to a quiet, gray sunday morning
and snow flurries ...
you don’t have to be a genius,
or a meteorologist,
or possess mystical powers ...
you can feel it in your bones -
in the weight on your body,
in the frenzy of your psyche -
you can see it
in the more deliberate behavior
of squirrels, birds, deer,
and neighbors -
even smell it in the air -
‘it feels like snow’,
i’ve heard old-timers say -
even yesterday -
‘something ain’t right ‘,
and that’s not a quote
from a dylan song -
just ordinary people
bewildered and confused,
taken advantage of
and used ...
their trust squandered,
and hope diffused .
we can ‘feel’ it ...
i’ve been told
feelings aren’t facts -
of course not -
one is based upon intuition
and cognitive evolution,
the other upon details
of empirical evidence -
all of which is arguable,
if you’re so inclined ...
[to whom is it profitable]
but if it ‘feels’ like snow,
it probably will -
if not,
the season or location
is probably ready ...
i saw michael moore’s ‘sicko’ last night -
with trepidation;
because he annoys me -
ever since ‘fahrenheit 911’
and media interviews -
because he abuses his vehicle
to be consequential
and poignant - believable ...
the issues and glazed-over points
are important -
the delivery and self aggrandizement
is boring - appealing to the
lowest common denominator -
i’m always ready for
the adult version sequel -
not haute-cuisine
on kiddy plates ...
but a rose is still a rose -
and despite his trademark buffoonery,
he drove home uncomfortably
salient points -
more despicable, embarrassing
and distasteful than i could have imagined ...
[but hey, i’ve got a social conscience]
even after my own experiences
with high-priced health care
and legal trickery/treachery -
i still believed the daily propaganda;
the genetic hardwiring from
fearful and oppressed immigrants,
and a family of veterans
of 1st generation indoor plumbing,
opiate tv, advertising,
religion, and political lies -
and now more than ever,
i do believe
‘the american dream’
is nothing more than a dream,
a delusion ...
a corrupted system
of conscienceless parasites,
transcribing reason and law -
for fulfillment
of greed and control;
under an auspicious cloak
of progress and mutated democracy -
this is what i woke up to ...
‘something ain’t right’ ...
